The Pittsburgh Penguins have put David Gustafsson on waivers, hours before their home opener against the Montreal Canadiens.
Elliotte Friedman reported the move Saturday afternoon in a one-line post.
Gustafsson is a 26-year-old Swedish center who shoots left and stands 6-foot-3.
He carries an $850,000 cap hit that runs out after this season, with unrestricted free agency waiting.
This one was coming. A depth center on a small deal is exactly the kind of player who gets squeezed when an opening-night roster takes shape.
It's the reliable utility guy at the office getting reassigned the week the new hires show up. Nobody's mad at him, there's just no desk left.
Will anyone claim him? Teams looking for a big body down the middle get a cheap look this weekend.
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David Gustafsson's Winnipeg years built most of his résumé
Winnipeg drafted him 60th overall in 2018, and he played every one of his 149 NHL games with the Jets.
That stretch produced six goals and 20 points.
His busiest NHL season came in 2022-23, when he played 46 games and posted six assists.
The 2024-25 campaign brought a +10 rating in 36 games.
Playoff time suited him too, with a goal in each of his last two postseasons with the Jets.
Last season was spent with the Manitoba Moose, where he put up 32 points in 48 games.
Before all that, he came up through HV71 in Sweden and wore his country's colors at the 2019 World Juniors, where he had three assists.
Dan Muse's Penguins come into tonight at 1-0-0 after a 7-0 win in Philadelphia.
Blake Lizotte is listed day-to-day with a lower-body injury, which makes the timing on a forward going through waivers a little more interesting.
The Canadiens arrive off a 3-2 win in Toronto, with Sidney Crosby set to get his look at Juraj Slafkovsky.
Kyle Dubas made his call. If someone grabs Gustafsson before the weekend is out, Pittsburgh will find out quickly whether it gave up one forward too many.
Should an other NHL team claim David Gustafsson off waivers?
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